Old Joe Clark

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Old Joe Clark Biography
Song History
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Lyrics/Song history research on other recordings by The Rosinators
Orange Blossom Special
One Kind Favour
I Saw the Light (Hank Williams)
In My Time of Dyin'
Blue Ridge Mountain Blues
Cindy's Breakdown (aka Get Along Home Cindy)
Joli Blon (aka Jolie Blonde)
Little Sadie
Looking for the Stone (aka Daniel Saw The Stone)
Poncho's Lament (Tom Waits)

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Old Joe Clark Lyrics

Orange Blossom Special  One Kind Favour  I Saw the Light   Joli Blon   Little Sadie
In My Time of Dyin'    Cindy's Breakdown   Blue Ridge Mountain Blues

Old Joe Clark Biography

Old Joe Clark  [photo submitted by Elijah Clark, Old Joe Clark's great grandson]

Genealogical research © Lisa Clark

Below the hill and in front of the US Post Office at Sextons Creek,
Kentucky, stands a State Historical Marker (#1382), listing this bit
of Mountain History:

Photo from Tour Southern & Eastern Kentucky site OLD "JOE CLARK" BALLAD  Mountain ballad, about 90 stanzas,   sung during World War 1 and later   wars by soldiers from eastern   Kentucky. Early version, as sung in Virginia, printed in 1918.   Joe Clark, born 1839, lived here; a shiftless and rough mountaineer of that day. His enemies were   legion; he was murdered in 1885. In the moonshining days of 1870's, he ran a government-supervised still. ___ 1970 Kentucky Historical Society   Kentucky Department of Highways #1382

According to Lisa Clark's research, Joseph Clark was born in Clay
County, Kentucky on September 18, 1839. He was raised on the
family farm at Sextons Creek, and married Elizabeth (Betty) Sandlin
on January 12, 1857, when he was 17 and she was 15.

When the Civil War began, Joe was one of the first to enlist, even
though he was married and had three children. He was 22 years old,
stood 5 feet 8 inches, had a fair complexion, with light hair and blue
eyes. He became ill during the winter months and was given a
Disability Discharge in 1862.

Joe returned to Clay County and resumed farming. He bought 700
acres of land from his father in 1868, and lived in the log house on
Sextons Creek that had been built by the Clark pioneers.


"Fare Thee Well" by Russell May - a limited edition print of Joe Clark's
two storey log cabin, which according to his great grandson Elijah Clark,
is still standing today. [For details of Russell May's prints contact Kathy May]

Joe began earning a reputation in the local area, and Betty left him
around 1864. He lived with several different women and had more
children which he raised.

There was a popular break-down tune at the time that did not have
lyrics, so some of Joe's friends started making up rhymes to be sung
with the tune. From this originated the ballad of "OLD JOE CLARK."
Joe is said to have liked the song until some of the more fun loving
souls started making up rhymes that were not very complimentary.

He operated a country store near his house and also ran a moonshine
still, under license from the state. The still was located in the bottom
near his house, and Joe had orchards from which to gather the fruit
for brandy and other drinks. He would load an ox cart with whiskey
and take it to the round bottoms as well as selling it from his store.
Joe had a Spencer rifle which he carried across his lap when riding
and is said to have used it to shoot the arm off one of his neighbors
when they got into a fight. One story has it that Joe also lost an arm,
but J.B. Weaver, who married Joe's great-granddaughter, claimed Joe
lost some use of his left arm after he had a fight with the father of
John Lucas, who slashed him across the collar bone with a knife.

There are several stories surrounding his death. J.B. Weaver gave this
account, as told to him by Joe's son. Joe was living with a woman named
Chris Leger and they split up. He then began living with a McKenney
woman in his store, renting his house to Chris and her new friend, the
brother of Old Jim Howard. Leger and Howard then devised a plan
whereby they would kill Joe and she would claim he had left the farm to
her. Howard shot and killed Joe on April 22, 1886, near the back porch
of the store. Howard then fled to Beattyville, where a few days later
while crossing a bridge, he was stabbed to death by two men from
Clay County.

Joe is buried in the Clark Cemetery on a hill overlooking the farm at
Sextons Creek.


Old Joe Clark's eldest son, Tom Clark
[photo submitted by his grandson, Elijah Clark, great grandson of Old Joe Clark]

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According to Bradley Kincaid, in Book 3 of his 'Favorite Old-Time Songs
and Mountain Ballads' (1930), "Old Joe Clark," who is immortalized in one
of the ballads in this collection, was a notorious character in Clay County,
Kentucky. As with many mountain ballads, the song tells something of his
character. They will tell you in Manchester that he was a hard, rough-and-
ready bully, who was shot to death by his own son, in a fight over some
hogs. The boy was exonerated by the jury and commended by the
community where he still lives. When the fiddlers strike up "Old Joe
Clark," every foot in Manchester beats time.

Fiddle Tunes of the Old Frontier
The Henry Reed Collections

"Old Joe Clark" seems, from the vantage point of the later twentieth century,
to be one of the most widely known of all Southern fiddle tunes. Indeed, it is
one of those Southern tunes that has to a degree become part of the national
repertory. One may hear it in bluegrass jam sessions, old-time fiddle sessions,
and country dances throughout the United States. But though it may date back
into the nineteenth century, one cannot find sets older than the turn of the
century. It is possible that it circulated first in children's tradition and in play-
parties--which might account for its playful and sometimes outlandish verses--
then erupted into the fiddle and banjo world. Henry Reed's set shares with
most old-time fiddlers from the Upper South the movement of the melody to
the high octave (A) by the third phrase of the high strain, and the drop of the
melody to the lower dominant (E) in the second phrase of the low strain.

The Almanac Singers 1941 (left to right - Woody Guthrie, Lee Hays,
Millard Lampell & Pete Seeger)

Pete Seeger (who wrote "Round and Round Hitler's Grave" with fellow
Almanac Singers Woody Guthrie and Millard Lampell to the same tune
in 1941 - see lyrics) states in his book 'How to Play the 5-string Banjo'
that Joe Clark was "an actual person, a veteran of the War of 1812."

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Other Notabe Recordings

Old Joe Clark by Doc & Merle Watson
(from their album 'Home Sweet Home')



Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com

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Old Joe Clark by Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
(from their album 'Flatt & Scruggs 1964-1969, Plus
[6 Audio CD box set]

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Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys
(from the album 'Anthology')

 

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Old Joe Clark by The Kentucky Colonels
(from the album 'Livin' In The Past 1961-65')

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Old Joe Clark by Chet Atkins
(from his album 'Essential Guitar Masters')



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Old Joe Clark by Charlie Haden (feat. Jack Black)
(from his album 'Rambling Boy')

/ Amazon.com / Amazon.co.uk

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Tab / Sheet Music / Video / Links

Fiddle

Banjo

Free Banjo Lessons with Geoff Hohwald
Video lesson (QuickTime) showing left
hand fingering and right hand picking
at various speeds - plus banjo tab
Contact: Geoff Hohwald

Mel Bay Old-Time Festival Tunes for Clawhammer
This book and two CD set is intended to be a tune
repertoire book. It includes over 100 Old-Time festival
favorites (including Old Joe Clark). The book contains
2 lines of tablature (one basic and one advanced) as
well as standard notation and suggested chords. The
basic version should be playable by those with general
clawhammer skills. The advanced version will require
more time and finesse as it is more ornamental (often
more than just melodic) and may include intuitive ways
of playing some passages.

Banjo Hangout
Comprehensive banjo resource including over 2,200
banjo tabs and 350 lessons + discussion forum, reviews
and banjo links

Mandolin

Dave Yates of Appalachian Music Lessons

Guitar

Lyrics/Song history research on other recordings by The Rosinators

Orange Blossom Special
One Kind Favour
I Saw the Light (Hank Williams)
In My Time of Dyin'
Blue Ridge Mountain Blues
Cindy's Breakdown (aka Get Along Home Cindy)
Joli Blon (aka Jolie Blonde)
Little Sadie
Looking for the Stone (aka Daniel Saw The Stone)
Poncho's Lament (Tom Waits)

Country Song Lyrics - bluegrass, Cajun, Country Blues & Gospel
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